Indenting machine



P 26, 1944- I. E. Bob-m 2,358,787

'INDENTING MACHINE v Filed Sept. 1, 1943 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 [12 van for Irving E. Bdoih. By his Aflornel Sept. 26, 1944. I. Boo 2,358,787

INDENTING MA HINE File; Sept. 1, 1945 s snee'a-heet s Patented Sept. 26, 1944 r v UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE I Y 2,358,787 I mnniv'rmo MACHINE Irving E'. Booth, Rochester", N. Y., assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Fl'emington, J'., a corporation of'New'Jers'ey' Application September 1, 1943,;Serial No. 500,147

9 Claims. (CI. 12-32) This invention relates to indenting machines and isherein. illustrated and described as erh-. bodied in a machine for making indentations or imitation stitches upon the upper surface of the projecting edge. of a shoe sole.

This upper surface is often very resistant to pressure, particularly so in the case of welted shoes where the welti ng is reinforced by the stitching whichjoins it vto the outer sole. and; considerableforce is needed to 'produce satisfactory, deep impression by means of the indenting tool, which consists of a freely rotatable toothed roll arranged to act upon the surface of the Welt or-sole extension while the latter is held upon a work support.

It is recognized by those skilled in the art of welt-indenting with a tool of the type mentioned above that the best results are obtained by causing the-indentingpressure to be applied by a rapid succession of impulses of the indenting tool in addition to a steadily exerted. pressure, as the shoe is fed steadily over the'work support past the tool. The problem of operating in this man-.

ner is made difficult by the fact that the sole extension is often not of uniform thickness all the way around the shoe, and this is particularly true in the case of a weltedshoe, wherein they thickness of the combined sole and welt is usually.

somewhat greater around the toe than along the sides of the forepart.

Attempts have been made to impart a series of pressure impulses to the tool in welt indenting machines by means ofa rotary harnr mer operated, to strike a rapid succession of blows upon a reciprocable' slide which'carried the.

affected ,the operator so'seriously that he was unable to work continuously.

Y the use of a carefully constructed crankdriven toggle mechanism 1 have-succeeded, in a machine disclosed in Letters Patent of the United States No. 2,248,058, granted July '8, 1941, upon. my application, in providing a machine whichruns smoothly and much more quietly than the rotary hammer rnachinesementioned above. In my patented machine, however, an operating mechanism isconnected directly to a tool carryi-ng'slide 'which,as in prior machines; reciprocates in a straight line, and it'is possible for the tool, which has a fixed stroke; .to belifted out of the indentation or indentations being formed rapid and to fail to enter them. accurately up n the return stroke. This may produce, imperfect work and, in order to prevent such occurrences, it isv desirable that the tool remain continuously in with a minimum of shock or impact, thereby I avoiding a' fatiguing amountv of noise. and vibra-. tion.

Accordingly, I have. provided a vibratory tool carrier operated by mechanism comprising a.

plunger arranged to engage. the. carrier, a toggle.

. connected to the plunger, and means for straight.-

' from the tool carrier so that the tool is not liftedv ening and breaking .the togglein rapid succese 'sion' tofcause the tooltoexert pressure impulses upon the work. .Thepluneer is preferably re-- ciprocable in a fixed path and is entirelyseparate out .of the indentations being formed in the work. r v I In order to follow variations in the thickness of the work the work'support in the illustrated machine isyieldingly sustained by a spring but is sufiiciently heavy to have considerable inertia. This arrangement causes thetool to bear con-.. stantly 0n the stock while the machine-lain. operation and the inertia of the work supp rt 1* gives it-the, characteristics of an anViLpreVenting undue yielding under the stroke ofthe plunger .or rising between the rapidly consecutive strokes of the plunger on the tool'carrier while readily permittingthe relatively slow self adjustment of the... work support to the thickness of the work as the point being operated upon progressesaround the shoe. ;The combination of elements in the machine of-the present invention makes it possible to'produce deep indentations of high perfection and-great uniformity very easily and rapidly.

These and-otherfeatures of the invention will now be more fully set forth in the following specification to be read with reference tothe accom-:

panying drawings, in which 4 Fig. 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, of a an illustrative machine embodying the invention;

- Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the indenting roll and the mechanism for imparting pressure im-r pulses thereto;

. Fig. 3 is a 'pl n view, or th mec anism f driving the work table;

The operating instrumentalities of the illus trated machine consists of an idly rotating toothed indenting roll I (Figs. 1 and 2) and a driven rotary work table I 2. These members are carried by a frame having a hollow column I4 A housing 16' adapted to rest upon the floor. mounted on the top of the column I4 contains mechanism, later to be described, for imparting pressure impulses to the indenting roll.

The indenting roll I0 is provided with teeth for producing impressions I (Fig. 8) in the welt or sole extension of a shoe S. It is frusto-conical in form and is idly mounted for. rotation upon a pin I8 (Fig. 4) clamped in the outer end of an arm or lever 20. The pin I8 is received within a longitudinal bore in the arm 20, the adjacent portion of the arm being slit and provided with a clamping screw 22 which, when tightened, causes the 'pin to be gripped within thexbore. The in-v ner end of the arm 20 is pivotally mounted for free swinging movement upon a pin 24 (Fig. 1) carried by a bracket 26 secured upon the top of the column I4. A stop 28 (Figs. 4 and in the form of a permanent magnet mounted upon a block 30 engages the undersurface of thearm 20 to limit downward movement of the indenting roll I0; This magnet is preferably of the type which retains its' magnetism even after bein subjected to repeated shock: The magnet 28'has the shapeof a square-cornered U of which the two upstanding branches are numbered 29'and'3 I. The block 30 is secured upon a pin 32 whichin turn is carriedby a bracket 34. screw 36 secures the bracket 34 to a portion of the column I4 in any desired position of heightwise adjustment. A vertical tongue-and-grooye connection 31 is provided between the bracket 34 and the housing I 4 to enable such adjustment to be made. The arm 20 is urged downwardly by.

a coil compression spring 38,'the upper end of which bears against a bridge 40 on the lower por-' tion of the housing I G'and'the lower end of which bears against the arm '20. 'Astop screw 42 threaded through-the bridge 40 and secured in adjusted position by a locknut 44 engages the upper surface of the arm 20 to limit the upward movement of the arm. The stop screw 42 extends within the spring 38 to support and guide the spring. Whilethe weight of the arm 20' together with the force of the'magnet might be sufficient without the spring 38, I prefer to use the spring also to hold the tool I0' downwardly against the work. Dependingfrom the bridge 40 are a pair of lugs 43 in which are idly mounted a pair of guide 'rolls 45 which engage finished surfaces onf'theopposite sides of the arm 20 to insure lateral'stability. e

The mechanism for imparting pressure impulses to the arm 20 comprises a plunger 46 (Figs. land 2) guided by a bushing 48 secured ina boss 50 formed in the housing I6. Secured upon the lower end of 'the'pl'unger 46 is a cap 52 having a rounded head 54 which engages a cup-shaped. depression formed in a block 56 secured upon the A clamping upper surface of the arm 20. It should be noted that the plunger 46 is unconnected with the arm and that while downward movements of the plunger may operate positively upon the arm, upward movements of the plunger do not draw the arm upward. The upper end of the plunger 46 is pivotally connected by a pin 58 to the lower end of a toggle link 68, the upper end of which toggle link is pivotally connected by a pin I0 to the lower end of a second toggle link I2. A stationary pin I4 secured in the housing I6 provides Ya 'pivotal support for the upper end of the link Pivotally mounted upon the intermediate toggle pin I0 is one end of a connecting rod I6. The other end of the connecting rod. I6 is mount- -ed upona crank pin I8 secured eccentrically upclined at a similar angle tothe horizontal.

' on a disk 80. 1 A shaft 82 secured in spaced bearings 84 on thehousing I6 carries the disk and is driven by a pulley 86 mounted on the shaft 82 between the bearings 84. A belt 88 drives the pulley 86, and the resulting rotation of the shaft 82. operates through the connecting rod I6 to straighten and break the toggle formed by the links 68 and I2 twice for each complete rotation of the shaft.

Th heightwise movement of the indenting tool I0 is not in a strictly vertical path but is inclined from the vertical at an angle of-about 20. Such inclination is obtained by providing bearings for the pin 24 having their common axis in- The axis of the pin 24, while thus inclined, lies in a vertical plane and is normal to a line parallel to the axis of the tool I0. The above-mentioned vertical plane which contains the axis of the pin 7 ried by a bracket 92. A cylindrical block 93 secured to the bracket 92 supports the inner race of the bearing 90. The under surface of the cap of the Work table is supported by the balls which in turn are supported by the upper sur- 7 face of the bracket 92. A post 95 threaded into the bracket 92 has a head which is countersunk into the working face of the work table to hold the work table down. This post engages the work table loosely enough to avoid interfering with the rotation of the work table. Extending from the periphery of the depending cylindrical flange portion 9| of the work table I2 are'gear teeth 94 which are engaged, by a pinion 96 carried by a shaft 98 journaled in the bracket 92. A housing I00 secured upon the upper surface of the bracket 92 surrounds the pinion 96' and the gear teeth 94. The bracket 92 has formed thereon an arcuate slide portion I02 which engages an arcuate guideway formed in a" block I04. .The center of the slide I00 and. its guideway' is positioned in the approximate locality of operation which is at the marginal portion of the upper or work position of angular adjustment. The block I04 is slidably mounted for heightwise movement upon a stem IIIl (Figs, 1 and 'Z) with provision for heightwise adjustment thereon. Such adjustment upon the upper and lower faces of the nut II2 assays? -bear against similar surfaces on theblock IM to -.control the heightwise position of the block on the stem. -Rotation of the nut "H2 is effected -through a gear "H6 meshing with thegear teeth .I- I4.- The gear 'IIB is carried by a stem I18 jou-rnaled in bearings I20 carried by-the block which is -sl-idablyengagedby the "upper end or a treadle rod Hi0. Surrounding the treadle' rod'flfi is a coil compression spring I32, the upper end of which 'bears against the lower end of 'tneheavy block I28 and the lower end *of which bear's against a Washer 134 which'is backed up by 'a nut I36 threaded for adjustment upon the treadle'rod I30., A collar I38 s'ecurediupon thertre'adle'ro'd I30 engages a flange M "on the column" M to 'support the weight of the block -I 26, the work table I2,'and the associated DartsI The :"collar I38 rests normally upon the-flange I 48 with the work table I-2 below operating'p'osition. The treadle (notshown) is so arranged that the operator-by depressing it can raise the rod I38 and thusyieldingly, through'the spring 1 32, raise the heavy block I 26 andthe'work table I 2 into ope-rating position. If "desired, a stop may'loe provided for limiting upward movement of the"work"table to prevent the work table from being moved into engagement with the indenting tool I0 when no work piece istin'position foroperation. For guid ingthe block I04 there is provided a link "M2 pivotally-mou'nted at one end upon a stationary pin 144 carried by a pair of arm I 16 depending froin the bracket 26. The opposite end er the arm 'I'-42, iwhich is forked, e-rnbrace'sfia lug I48 extending fromth'e block l Iil' and 'is pivotally se'cured' thereto by a pin' lsuf An ular moirem'ent'of the arm I42 al oout its'p'in I 44 is relati slight arl'd'the displacement hsrizontauy -or the pin I 50 resulting :rrem' such movement is nj l'igii ble; The-arm 142 has a lon bearing on' the pin 144 to insure laiteral stability. a V f The workt'able I? and the mechanism for calls ing the indenting r011 I li'to' exert pulsating 51 ssure upon the work are driven through mochanism which willinow be described. fse uredu on a bracket 'l52 (Fig. 1 mounted on thecolumn "IE is a housing- I54 '(s'ee 'also Fig in whichiis' journaled a main shaft '1 56. f Secured upon "an end of the shaft 156 whichextends outside of the column I4 is apull'ey "I58"driven' by a belt F 0 from any suitable-source of power. secureuupen shaft :I'64' which isdriven from: the shaft lfifioby' gearing I66. Secured upon the counter shaft 1-6-4.

is a skew gear I68 which meshes with a's'kew gear I secured upon a shaft I-I-2- which is journaled .in a bearingIH carried by the housing I54. The

shaft I-I2 inclines upwardly fromthe gear He. in a vertical plane. An extensible shaft H6 is connected atits lower end by-a universalojoi'nt I I 8fto the shaft I12 and at its upper end by a jiniversal joint I80 to;the lower endof the shaft 88 todrive the WOIk table 12 in the direc tion of feed-of the work. 7

1A heating element I 82 '(Fig. 1) carried a" is balanced by the downward thrust'of the spring 38,-the weight of the various parts, and the coni the housing I6 is supplied 'with'o'urrent by a pair of leads "I86; The heating unit I82, which *is stationary, is in close proximity to the indenting roll 10 and supplies heat to the indenting roll by radiation. To protect the upper of the shoe from the heat generated by the unit I82 and also from any danger of mechanical abrasion by the indentingroll -I0, "and for the additional purpose of guiding the shoe by contact with the upper, is a plate I88, the upper end portion of which is hinged upon a, 'pi ntle' I90 carried by a bracket 192. The plate I88 may be swung'upwardly and outwardly to afiord access to the heating unit or tothe indenting roll. When lowered to its oper- 'ating position' it is held against inward movement by a pair *of "stop lugs I94 depending froin the bracket 1 92.- The bracket I92 is secured 'by a clamping bolt-I 98 to a lug I98 extendingfroin the 'cover plate of the housing I6. The bolt P96 extends downwardly through a hole in the lug I98 and through'a-sl'ot in the bracket I92, the lower end portion of the bolt being threaded through a nut 290. "A horizontal adjusting screw 202 threaded into the lug I98 and having a circu-mferentially' grooved head in engagement with a notch formedin "an upstanding flange of the bracket facilitates accurate adjustment of the bracket, "whereuponthe bracket may be clamped by thebolt I96 inadjusted' position.

- The operation "of themachine will now be do scribed; While the machine is running idly, the indenting toolcarrier 20 is resting upon the magnetic stop 28 which is :just below the downward reach :of the reciprocating plunger 46, and the indenting'tool I0 is lying just above, the work tablcI Zand out of contact With it. After introducing a work piece,-the"operat0r depresses the treadle to raisethe worktable'through thespring r32 into opera-ting. position. The Work piece thereupon engages the indenting roll II'I, raising the carrier lever '20 into the path of the re'ciprocating plunger 46. The work table I-2 will rise 7 to a level atw-hichthe thrust of the spring I32 tinuous efEect of the successive impulsesof the bracket I88 secured tothe front cover plate 0175:

plunger upon the carrier. 1 The "effective working compression of the spring 2-I3 2 may be increased or dimini-s hed by raising .or lowering the work table through the knurled wheel I22 01' the nut- I35 to vary theiorce exerted by the indenting roll upon the-work. -The inertia of the-heavy block I28 is sufiicient to prevent any appreciable. vibratory movement of the work table "I2; in re'--" sponse to the rapidreciprocation of' the plunger 46. The indenting; tool In is thus able; in the course of each down stroke of the plungerto exert pressure against the work piece before the work table hsas time-to yield downwardly-r The pressure thus exerted increases progressively to-'-- ward the end of the stroke and reaohes a maxi mumat the end of the stroke, The maximum pressure; developed through the toggle mechanisrn, has an intensity which is particularly effec rials asleather. Thispressure, itwill be -observed,

is'not obtained through the impact of a hammer blow but is built up graduallyduring each down'-;

ward stroke of the plunger. The gradual application of the operating pressure; repeated in swift succession, is preferable to a series of hanra mer= blows for, by avoiding shock and concussion,

it enables the machine to run "more smoothly and Eveninore' imp'on-f tivein the forming .of indentations in such-mate for the gradually applied pressure attains a mo- -mentary maximum which exceedsthat obtainable through hammer blows under practicable conditions of operation, and without damaging the work piece.

The work table l2, while held relatively stationary by the inertia block I26 against the rapid series of pressure impulses of the indenting tool, is nevertheless capable of a relatively slower up and down movement to compensate for the different thicknesses of work pieces or for variations'in thickness in different portions of the same work piece, the combined efiect of the inertia block I26 and the spring I32 being to make the" work table self-adjusting for height while at the same time holding it effectively stationary against each down thrust of the indenting tool ID. The pressure exerted upon the work piece will therefore be uniform regardless of variations in the thickness of the work piece, and the resulting indentations will be of uniform depth. The pressure to which the work piece is subjected may, however, be varied by adjustment oi the compression of the spring I32. The fact that the plunger 46 is unconnected with the carrier 20 enables the indenting tool H) to press at all times upon the work under the influence of the spring 38 and the weight of the carrier 20, since the plunger will not in the course of its upward movements lift the indenting tool from the work. Any likelihood of the indenting tool being lifted and then let down with its indenting teeth out of register with the indentations already formed is thus avoided. As a result the indenting tool will lie at all times upon the work piece with its teeth in the indentations already formed, and will exert a pulsating pressure of'great momentary intensity that will leave clear, sharp, uniform indentations in the work piece.

The feed of the work piece is taken care of by the drive of the work table and also by the component of movement in the direction of feed which the indenting tool has by reason of its oblique path of movement. Although the indenting tool isfreely rotatable, nevertheless the inertia of the tool is sufiicient, in' view of the rapidity of reciprocation, tov cause the tool to exert an effective force in the direction of feed upon the work piece.

- When the operator wishes to withdraw the work piece from the machine he releases the tr eadle to let the work table down. The carrier 20 at once drops and rests upon the stop 28 which, because of its magnetic properties, holds the carrier firmly against any tendency to rebound or tochatter in synchronism with the reciprocating plunger 45.

' Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent or the United States is:

1. An indenting machine, comprising an indenting tool, a carrier for said tool mounted for operative movement to enable the tool to press against a work piece, a member unconnected with said carrier but engageable with the carrier to push the carrier in the. direction of said operative movement, and means for imparting a series of reciprocatory movements to said member to cause operative movements of said tool, said movementimparting means being constructed and arranged to transmit continuous pressure to said pushing member during each operative movement of the pushing member.

2. A welt indenting machine, comprising a welt indenting tool, a carrier for said tool mountedfor operative movement to enable the tool to press against a work piece, a plunger unconnected with said carrier but engageable with the carrier to push the carrier in the direction of said operative movement, a guide for said plunger, a'continuously driven member rotating about an eccentric axis, a connecting rod mounted at one end on said rotating member, and means connecting the other end of said connecting rod to said plunger for causing the plunger to reciprocate and thereby to operate said tool.

3. An indenting machine, comprising a work support, an indenting tool, a carrier for said indenting tool mounted for heightwise movement and arranged to enable the indenting toolv to rest freely upon a work piece on said work support, a member guided for heightwise reciprocation, said reciprocable member being engageable in its down strokes with said carrier to transmit pressure impulses to said indenting tool and being unconnected with said carrier to avoid lifting the" tool from the work piece on the up strokes of the reciprocable member, and operating means constructed and arranged to impart to the reciprocable member a force which increases during each down stroke.

4. An indenting machine comprising an indenting tool, a support upon which work may be presented to said tool, a carrier for said indenting tool movable in a direction toward and away from said work support to enable the tool to press the work with variable pressure against the work support, a rapidly reciprocating member engageablein the course of each of its advancing strokes with said carrier to urge the tool against the work on the work support, and means for limiting the movements oi the carrier in the direction of the return strokes of the reciprocating member.

5. An indenting machine comprising an indenting tool, a support upon which work may be presented to said tool, a carrier for said indenting tool movable toward and away from said work support to enable the tool to press the work with variable pressure against the work support, and means for operating said carrier to urge the tool repeatedly toward the work support, said operating means comprising a plunger arranged to move into abutting engagement with said carrier, a toggle connected to the plunger, and means for straightening and breaking the toggle in rapid succession to cause the tool to exert a rapid series of pressure impulses upon the work.

6. An indenting machine comprising an indenting tool, a support upon which work may be presented to said tool, a. carrier for said indenting tool, a pivot upon which said carrier is mounted for swinging movement about an axis spaced the carrier is caused to transmit a rapid series of pressure impulses to the tool. 7

7 An indenting machine comprising an indenting tool, a support upon which work may be fed to said tool, a carrier for said too1,,a pivot upon which said carrier is mounted for swinging. movement to enable the tool to be moved bodily, the axis of said pivot extending in a plane parallel to the path of feed of a work piece on said work support and having a direction oblique to that Of the path of feed to give the movement of the tool a component in the direction of said path of feed and a component which presses the Work piece against the work support, and means for swinging said carrier about said pivot to cause the tool to exert upon the work a pulsating pressure having a feeding component and a pressure component.

8. In a machine of the class described, a tool operable upon a Work piece by pressure, a carrier for said tool mounted for movement to enable the tool to press against the work piece, and a stop for limiting the movement of the carrier beyond the necessary range of operation, said stop and a cooperating portion of the carrier being magnetically attractive to each other to hold the carrier against the stop and thereby to prevent rebound when the work piece is withdrawn.

9. In a machine of the class described, a tool operable upon a work piece by pressure, a work table for supporting the work piece under the pressure of said tool, a carrier for said tool mounted for movement to enable the tool to press against the work piece, operating means unconnected with said carrier but engageable with the carrier to push the carrier toward the work table in a direction to cause the tool to press against the work piece, and a stopengageable by the carrier to hold the tool ofi the work table when a work piece is not interposed between the -tool and the work table, said stop and a cooperating portion of the carrier being magnetically attractive to each other to hold the carrier against the stop and thereby to prevent rebound when the work piece is withdrawn from beneath the tool.

IRVING E. BOOTH. 

